


Error: Impossible Memories

by Moonfireflight



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluffy Angst, Memories, reset theory, surprise dimensional travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 03:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13966680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonfireflight/pseuds/Moonfireflight
Summary: This is just a sort of reset theory drabble. After several resets, you finally meet in person.It might get more chapters later, but it made me really emotional and that's all I can handle for now.Somewhere, in another world, there's a Moonie who writes about other characters or fandoms. However, that is not the world you live in.(Edited to remove a note I had left for myself, lololol)





	Error: Impossible Memories

Tumbling. You were tumbling through coruscating rainbows of light with no idea which way was up or down. Endless rows of words and symbols wound together and overlapped each other in intricate knotwork that shifted continuously around you. Was that… a programming language? It wasn’t familiar to you, and it certainly didn’t make sense to you, but you clung to the thought as it was the most normal thing you’d seen yet in this… dream? You’d been falling for so long that your initial fear had worn off and you were left as a silent bystander, observing the oddities around you.

This had to be a dream. The last thing you remembered was playing that game on your phone. You’d stayed up far too late yet again, waiting for another chat. Even though you’d practically memorized the words, you still enjoyed reading them. The characters made you feel like you were part of something, and you genuinely cared about their lives. Especially…

A vast sound like the shattering of glass suddenly filled your strange universe, and cracks began to form in your field of vision. The sound came again, and the cracks became a spiderweb, separating the multicolored sky into glittering slabs littered across a pitch-black nothingness. Everything crashed down around you, leaving you in darkness and silence.

You awoke with that strange sensation that you were in the wrong place, like when you fell asleep on the couch instead of your bed. It was a moment of terror that made no sense as you struggled to focus your eyes in the complete darkness of your room. The rest of your senses felt dulled like they were wrapped in cotton. It took a herculean effort to convince your body to do anything but lie there. A few test-wiggles of your fingers and toes told you that you were awake and not suffering from sleep paralysis, though something felt off. The sheets were too soft, slipping between your fingers like water. The pillow under your head was too flat. You rolled over onto your side and took a deep breath to calm your growing nerves. This brought a mix of confounding scents to tickle your nose – something dark and sweet and decidedly manly. Sitting up suddenly, you willed your eyes to focus, to let any available light in. The vague shape of an unfamiliar bedroom came into view around you, and you realized that the ceiling was covered in faintly glowing green star shapes.

***  
Saeyoung stared intently at a small window on his monitor, completely ignoring the work he was supposed to be focused on. The video was grainy and green tinted, showing him only shapes and forms from his darkened bedroom. She was still asleep. He wasn’t sure if this worried him more or if it was a relief.

He’d been working at his computer, as usual, occasionally tapping away at his assignment while building an ever-growing tower of chips, when he felt, more than heard something fall to the floor of his living room. Within 2.35 seconds, he’d gone from reclining in his chair with his headphones on to a crouched shooting stance and a gun in his hands. He had always thought it was a little paranoid of himself to stay armed at all times in his own home, but his line of work was chock full of fun surprises.

Though his heart was pounding, he kept his breathing as quiet as possible, straining to hear any signs of an intruder in the silence of his domain. Keeping one hand on the gun, he reached into his pocket and tapped on his phone screen several times. The lights in the bunker all went out at once. This was his castle, and he’d spent hours learning to navigate it in the dark if he needed to. He had the advantage, whatever was going on.

Hearing nothing, he began to move while keeping low and close to the ground. He crouched by the entrance of his living room, and finally picked up on a faint sound of breathing, followed by a … snore? He immediately ruled out Vanderwood because that snore was tiniest little snore he’d ever heard. No training could have prepared him for this, and he couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. He tapped the phone again to bring up the lights and peeked around the doorframe. There, in the middle of his living room, was the sprawled form of a sleeping young woman. Her hair was spread out around her head in a chaotic halo, and her glasses were close to falling off her face, but otherwise, she looked perfectly peaceful.

“Okay, Saeyoung. There’s a girl in your house who managed to somehow get past your triple layer security system without you noticing a damn thing. Apparently, she did all of that so that she could take a nap on your disgusting, chip-crumb encrusted, distressingly sticky, rug. Yeah, that’s completely normal.”

The perplexed programmer tried to process the scene and sort out the thoughts that were tripping over each other in his mind. Break-in. No sign of entry or damage. No security tripped. A cute girl whose shirt is slightly askew exposing her midriff. Wait, what? Somehow through all of this, he’d failed to process the weirdest part of all. She was wearing his black and yellow hoodie. The exact same one he was wearing right then. It couldn’t be the same one. His was customized to hell and back, with paths for wires for his various electronics, large pockets throughout that could conceal Kevlar shielding, and loose enough to look ridiculous while hiding all of that and his sidearm. Comfy as heck, too.

Everything about this situation was impossible. Before he’d realized what he was doing, he found himself crouched next to the girl, peering down at her sleeping form. He couldn’t just leave her here on his biohazard of a floor. As much as he wanted to hear her story, she obviously needed rest from whatever she’d gone through today. After adjusting her glasses, he scooped her up as gently as he could, one arm behind her knees, the other under her back. He tried to ignore how warm and soft she felt against his chest. He tried so hard not to notice the fact that her hair smelled of sunshine and honey. As he got her situated, a glimmer caught his eye. She was wearing a necklace made of gemstone chips the color of Dr. Pepper with two silver stars in the middle. Somehow, she felt so familiar to him, and that realization made his already pounding heart flutter and his footing to falter for half a step.

Saeyoung banished this useless train of thought away to a dusty corner of his mind. His toxic relationship with sleep and an ambiguous amount of days eating nothing but chips were finally starting to rot his brain. He knew it would happen eventually. Regardless of the identity of this woman, she’d found his way into his home, and he needed to keep her safe. He sighed internally, feeling his heart sinking further, as he realized he might be the one in danger. What if this was a trap? Either way, he’d need to watch her. He carried her to his bedroom and tucked her in. She didn’t wake but sighed softly as she subconsciously snuggled into the covers, mumbling something unintelligible.

After leaving the room, he silently closed the door behind him and slumped against the wall. What in God’s name was he doing, tucking a mysterious girl into his bed? Vanderwood was going to taze him until whatever was left of his brain melted into slime.

He continued staring at the camera feed, barely blinking. Her face was obscured between a lump of blanket and the low-quality video. The only reason he had installed that camera was so that if he got murdered in his sleep, Vanderwood or the agency could find out what happened. Though, they’d probably just track down the culprit to give them a medal.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he saw the figure stir, then suddenly sit bolt upright. She was looking around the room frantically. Damn. She must be frightened, waking up in a strange bedroom like this. Should he have left a light on for her?

She happened to turn and face the camera almost directly for just a moment, and he felt that confusing sensation of familiarity again. There's no way he'd seen her before unless it was in passing when he was shopping or on a mission. His heart was pounding still, though he couldn't puzzle out what it was trying to tell him. Whatever. He needed to talk to her and find out what was going on and get her out of here as quickly as possible.

***

You jumped at the sound of three light knocks on the door of the bedroom. "... Hello?" you called out.

A voice from the other side of the door responded, "I don't know who you are or how you got here but I promise I won't hurt you."

Something about the voice sounded familiar to you, but you couldn't match it to any of your friends or family members. Whatever. You needed to talk to this man and find out what was going on and get out here as quickly as possible. "I don't know who you are either. Are you going to keep me locked in this room?"

The man responded with a defeated sigh. "You aren't locked in...I just wanted to let you rest. It's not every day a strange girl wanders into your house to take a nap, you know?"

What was he talking about? Searching your memories, you realized that, without a doubt, you had no memory of how you ended up here. You'd accidentally drifted off while playing a game on your phone and then you were here. "I didn't wander in... I was having a strange dream then I woke up here. Did I pass out somewhere and you brought me here?"

Saeyoung paused. Her story was too ridiculous. It was a trap. He cursed whatever bastard thought he was stupid enough to fall for something like this. "Well, this is a fun game now, isn't it? Really creative. Send in a cute girl wearing my hoodie to throw me off. Who sent you?"

That gave you pause. What did he mean, his hoodie? You hugged yourself, running your fingers over the familiar black fabric. Ever since your first journey through the eleven days of Seven's route in Mystic Messenger, you'd needed some real world, tangible artifact from him. You'd worn it almost every day since, imagining he'd loaned it to you, or, in weaker moments, pretending that the yellow cuffed arms that hugged you were his. You had to know what he meant by "his hoodie." With quickened breath and racing heart, you moved closer to the source of the voice, and asked, "can I open the door?"

His reply sounded like an audible shrug. "Sure."

You took a deep breath and turned the knob. Before you stood a rather displeased looking young man with drooping shoulders and hands shoved firmly in his pockets. Sure enough, the hoodie he wore could be a twin to yours, though it looked like it was made of better material than your relatively cheap cosplay copy. That was hardly the most shocking thing about his appearance. From his blazing red hair, his striped glasses, and even his shining golden eyes, he was an exact match for your favorite character from the game.

You must have been staring at him slack-jawed because the corner of his lip quirked up in amusement. Was it him? You willed your mouth to form a name that you had read many times and whispered to yourself more than once. “…Saeyoung?”

The smile vanished, leaving his face nearly expressionless. It made you think of a mask. "How do you know that name?"

"You told me! Well, not you, I guess... The 'you' in my game" Your hands flew to your pockets, patting yourself down as you tried to locate your phone to show him what you meant, that you weren’t making this up.

"Game." It wasn't even a question, just a statement of disbelief.

Your heart sank as none of your pockets yielded any results. Your phone was gone. You were sure it had been in your hands when you had fallen asleep but... What happened after that? "Where did you find me? Maybe my phone is there; I'll show you! We saved your brother, Saeran, together and..."

He cut you off. The mask was gone entirely, his face a visage of fearful anger as he practically roared, “how could you know about him?! Who are you?!”

All your confusion and fear at the situation bubbled up within you forcing fat tears to fall from your eyes. “I'm just a girl who played a game! I don't know how this is happening, how you are real. I... In the game, we were in love. I was your 606. We were engaged, we were going to get married at the space station. To be honest, I played the game several times so that I could be with you longer.” You almost choked on your words as your crying turned to ugly sobs that wracked your body. “I think about you every time I look up at the stars. I missed you so much!” Why were you telling him this? There’s no way it could be him. Even still, through your blurry vision, you saw yourself grab a fistful of his hoodie in each hand, holding on for dear life as you wept before him shamelessly.

***

He was stunned, his mind numb. All he could do was boggle at the crying girl clinging to him. She knew too damn much. She knew things that were unbelievably dangerous about him. Knowledge that could ruin or simply end his life.

But, the rest of what she said… It was like his soul had been laid bare. She’d spoken of hopes he'd never dared put into words. Dreams of a wedding in space, exchanging vows among the stars, swearing eternal love. Things he didn't deserve but couldn't stop himself from wanting no matter how deeply he tried to bury those thoughts under endless hours of work. He remembered that feeling of familiarity and suppressed an urge to mock himself for hoping for a moment that her appearance was fate or an act of a merciful God. Whether this was destiny or his death at the hands of a skilled actor, something in his life had to change before he let this job wear him down to nothing.

"Hey.” He kept his voice soft, trying to soothe the mystery girl. “I'm sorry I yelled. I didn't mean to scare you. I think I was scared myself. No one should know those names.” Her sobbing didn’t stop. In fact, it seemed like she clung to him even more steadfastly. He had to know. "Look at me.” Then, with a whisper, “please."

***

As his voice softened, any doubt you had left ebbed away. This man was Saeyoung. You worked your way through a few shaky breaths, trying to stem the tide of emotions crashing through you, and looked up at him.

***

When he met her tearful eyes, several impossible things happened at once. He was overtaken by a memory that could never belong to him.

Dew from the grass had soaked through his shirt some time ago, but the chill didn’t bother him in the least. A vast and silent starscape spread out above them in every direction, each point a glistening jewel on a blanket of perfectly black velvet. He’d never seen the night sky so clearly before, and it left him feeling like he was floating. His hand…it was so warm. He moved his thumb, brushing small, slow, circles on the back of the hand he held. He tore his gaze from the glorious night sky long enough to turn, seeing an even more beautiful vision before him. The angel who loved him, who had saved him, was smiling at him sweetly.

The vision dissipated, but she remained, looking up at him. When he realized her face was damp with tears rather than evening dew, he felt a heaviness in his chest so profound it threatened to bring him to his knees.

How could he ever forget a moment like that? How could he ever forget someone who loved a wretched person like him?

Saeyoung’s eyes burned, hot tears slipping down his face. “How do I know you? Why don’t I remember you?”

***

Despite the sorry state you were both in, a tiny seed of hope began to bloom in your heart. Did his words mean that he recognized you? “Saeyoung… how are you real?” Even though he’d been furious with you moments ago, you couldn’t help yourself. It was one thing to know his clothing was real but… You reached up and placed a hand on one of his tearstained cheeks. He was so warm. His pulse thrummed under your palm, telling you over and over again that he was alive and here and real.

You were already living in the realm of the unimaginable. There was no sense in being anything other than completely honest. “I only knew you as a character in a game, but even still, you touched my heart. There were other characters in the game, but I always came back to you. When I wasn’t playing, I missed you so much it hurt, and sometimes I woke up crying, knowing you didn’t exist. That I could never touch you.”

You gasped as he placed a warm hand on your cheek as well. “I don’t know anything about a game, but when I look at you, I remember things that I know I could never have forgotten.” He moved to hold both of your hands in his, and guided you down to the floor with him, where he sat cross-legged.

You sat before him, close enough that your knees were touching. He didn’t let go of your hands, nor did he speak. It felt like silent messages were passing between you at each point of connection. At the mention of memories, you recalled moments that had never been programmed into the game. Standing in a kitchen together, laughing over smoke trickling out of the oven. Shoulder to shoulder huddled under a mound of blankets in front of a fireplace, united together against a howling wind buffeting the cabin.

You raised your head so that you could meet his eyes, and uttered a small “how?” The word seemed so tiny and insignificant compared to the world unfolding before you.

Saeyoung smiled sadly. “I don’t know. All I know is that you’re here now, and I missed you too.”


End file.
